My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 297 - 174: During the Imperial Examination

With the sound of the gong, the examinees stopped writing and slowly walked out of the Examination Hall.

Unlike the previous Book Department exam where the candidates still had the spirit to chat and laugh as it ended,

most were exhausted and silent after the Mathematics and Ritual Departments exams had concluded.

No one could walk out smiling after finishing this year's Mathematics exam.

In Calligraphy and Painting, it's clear whether you can do it or not, and in Law and Composition, even if you don't know, you can still write a few sentences.

But if you don't know Mathematics, you truly don't know.

This time, the examination paper for the Ritual Department was standard, nothing much to say.

But the difficulty of Mathematics had surpassed any previous session.

Even those well-versed in Mathematics felt helpless when facing the last two questions.

Before the Imperial Examination, they had heard that this year's Mathematics questions might change slightly to filter talent, but they didn't expect such a drastic shift.

However, there was no need to dwell on the subjects that had ended, if they didn't know, neither did anyone else.

The answers for Mathematics and Ritual Departments were fixed, making them easier to grade.

Two days later, the various Examination Halls had announced the results.

In past Imperial Examinations, it was rare for other subjects to produce outstanding grades.

However, within Mathematics, many outstanding papers often emerged, often ranked based on their problem-solving steps, the neatness of their paper, and the tidiness of their handwriting to determine the top scholar in Mathematics.

This year, however, it was unnecessary.

Out of thirty Examination Halls and nearly one hundred thousand candidates, there was only one outstanding grade in Mathematics.

Even the number of A+ grades was small, just six.

There were quite a few A grades, over thirty, indication they only got two questions wrong, likely the last two difficult ones.

At the Song Residence.

Mr. Chen felt some emotion as he said, "We old fellows truly are old, the nineteenth question, six candidates managed to solve it…"

The simplest question, General Drinking Horse, had once troubled them greatly.

Yet, under increased difficulty, in just one day's time, six young scholars had come up with the correct solutions, truly heroes emerging from youth, these young people are the future of Mathematics.

Although they didn't know who those six were, that outstanding paper undoubtedly came from Mr. Li.

This point was beyond doubt.

Actually, they shouldn't have set those two questions.

It was unfair to other candidates.

The issue was, all the questions they could set were taught to them by Mr. Li, and no matter how they set them, the result would be the same.

As long as he participated in the Imperial Examination, no one could contend with him for the top position in Mathematics.

When the four elderly professors left the Song Residence, Song Lian had just walked in from outside.

This time in the Imperial Examination, even the Ritual Department had produced an outstanding paper.

Because of this, the entire Ministry of Rites was alerted, and the Assistant Minister, accompanied by the Minister of Rites and himself, an Assistant Minister of Rites, personally went to the First Examination Hall to review that paper.

One should know that even if someone memorized all the Five Rites perfectly and filled them in without missing a word, they could only receive an A+.

There were some details that only someone who had truly organized and presided over these ceremonies could write.

Song Lian had seen that examination paper.

Even he couldn't answer it so perfectly.

That candidate, if he were to go to the Ministry of Rites, would need no additional training or learning and could even directly replace the Minister of Rites.

The Assistant Minister also said that once the results of the Imperial Examination were published, they must secure that candidate.

…

Each subject in the Imperial Examination lasted at most one day, but grading often took several days.

By the third Music Department exam at the First Examination Hall, there were still nearly one thousand five hundred candidates.

Three subjects down, only a little over five hundred were eliminated.

This, of course, was due to the stronger abilities of the examinees, but more so because this was the First Examination Hall, gathering the very best scholars of Daxia.

Some lesser Examination Halls had even eliminated up to eighty percent after three subjects.

When the gates of the Examination Hall opened and the candidates entered in order, even the scholars from the Four Great Academies felt nervous.

Similar to Painting and Calligraphy, in the Music Department exam of the Imperial Examination, each candidate's performance was judged by five examiners, with the highest and lowest scores removed, and the average of the remaining three taken.

Between the examinees and the examiners, a screen was set up so the examiners could not see the candidates' faces.

While this ensured fairness, the Music Department exam not only tested skill but also composure, as each candidate had only one chance to perform; if too nervous and underperforming on the spot, even those with strong advantages in the first three subjects could fail this one.

Today's examination was particularly tight on time, and to finish the Music Department exam within one day, nearly one thousand five hundred candidates were divided into twenty small examination rooms.

Even then, only by dusk did the Examination Hall doors open, and scholars began to emerge one by one.

The results for the Music Department were given by the examiners on-site, and though the candidates did not know their specific scores, they were informed whether they had passed the Music Department.

"This year's Music Department top scholar should undoubtedly be that person, right?"

"Of course, with such outstanding performance, how could he not be the top scholar?"

Someone's performance of "Chant for the Heavenly God" at Cloud Gate deeply immersed all five examiners, causing them to involuntarily kneel and worship on the spot, a scene nearly known throughout the entire Examination Hall.

It was said that after those five examiners got up, all gave outstanding evaluations.

Many thought that the top Music Department scholar this session would undoubtedly be that talented individual from Jin State.

Unexpectedly, among the Four Great Academies, there was also someone who achieved an outstanding grade in Music.

According to a few candidates who were waiting outside at the time, that person was handsome, but they did not recognize him.

Those few candidates, each from one of the Four Great Academies, did not know him, making his identity a mystery for the time being.

Though it was believed this Music Department top scholar would undoubtedly be him, unexpectedly, a candidate from the Seventh Examination Hall also achieved an outstanding grade in Music.

It was deserving of the twenty-year cycle of the Imperial Examination, a Music Department that seldom saw even an A+ in previous sessions, now bore two outstanding scholars, an unprecedented occurrence.

However, there could only be one Music Department top scholar, and the final decision still hung in the balance.

The chief examiner for the Music Department of the Imperial Examination was the newly appointed Prime Minister of Taichang, Liu Shang.

Though titled chief examiner, he needn't set the questions, merely supervise the examination rooms, monitor the examiners, and address any abnormalities during the Music Department exam.

This identity, although it lacked much power, nevertheless represented the court's recognition of him.

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Recalling the experiences of the past six months, Liu Shang felt as if he was dreaming.

The top scholar from the last Imperial Examination till now was still only a standard sixth-rank.

Yet he, Liu Shang, had already reached secondary fifth-rank, half a grade higher than the top scholar from his batch and the fastest to be promoted among that year's Advanced Scholars.

The source of it all traced back to when he was caught visiting a brothel and brought to the Ministry of Justice…

Many said that the Ministry of Justice was like Yama Hall.

But for him, it clearly was a place of good fortune.

Liu Shang had already received news that in this examination, the Music Department had produced two outstanding talents.

The Music Department, unlike other subjects, did not have papers to compare, and it was common for different Examination Halls to have examinees with the same scores in previous years.

At this time, after the completion of the six arts, it was necessary to gather the students who had achieved the highest scores in the subject and to hold a uniform examination overseen by the same examiners, to determine on-site who would be the Music Department Top Scholar.

Princess Mansion.

Li Anning had already found out the identities of the two musical prodigies, one was the highly anticipated talent from Jin State, likely to win the top scholar of the Music Department before the Imperial Examination.

The other was the man she held dear in her heart.

The musical genius from Jin State had not yet married.

She clenched her fist secretly and muttered softly, "Mother, bless him, he must win..."

At this moment in Chang'an, discussions about the two outstanding personalities of the Music Department were also underway.

After all, the Music Department was judged live and the extraordinary results caused quite a sensation; it was impossible to keep their identities secret.

The identity of the two exceptional Music Department candidates soon became known to people.

One was the heavenly gifted musician from Jin State, who came from a famous musical family and had demonstrated extraordinary musical talent from a young age.

The other was the son of Minister of Justice Li Xuanjing, the first of all six arts in the spring exams, and he had received excellent evaluations in the Music Department during both the spring exams and the Imperial Examination.

Although he did not come from a musical family, his father had been the Sixth-Ranking Scholar twenty years ago, also proficient in music.

It was said that during the Music Department exam, the sound of their guqin playing made the examiners lose their composure, making it truly unpredictable who would emerge as the top scholar of the Music Department.

If in the end, it turned out to be the son of Li Xuanjing, there wouldn't be much to talk about.

However, if it were the musical genius from Jin State, he might become one of the potential candidates for Prince Consort for Princess Anning.

The major gambling houses in Chang'an had even opened books on which of the two would become the top scholar of the Music Department.

Song Residence.

Li Nuo was also aware of this.

He had thought the position of Music Department Top Scholar was almost guaranteed, only to find there were still strong competitors beyond the Imperial Examination.

Of course, he recognized the abilities of Liu Shang.

But since it concerned Li Anning's lifelong happiness, he couldn't afford to take any risk.

After thinking it over, he decided to call for Housekeeper Wu.

...

The day after the Music Department exam ended, next came the Horse Riding test.

Zhou Yu entered the Examination Hall feeling like he was dreaming.

He had actually made it this far.

After completing the Ritual Department exam, he had searched all over Chang'an for the Divine Fortune Teller.

He really found him.

He paid ten taels of silver for the old man to predict which topic he would draw in the Music Department.

He had originally wanted to give the Divine Fortune Teller one thousand taels, but the man only accepted ten taels.

After taking the silver, the Divine Fortune Teller calculated and advised him to go back and practice Chapter Nine of Cloud Gate extensively.

When Zhou Yu returned home, he neglected sleep and food, sleeping only two-hour each day, feverishly perfecting Chapter Nine of Cloud Gate until he could play it smoothly without much thought.

He knew he didn't possess much musical talent and didn't aim for a high score, just to proceed smoothly to the next round.

Just as he had anticipated, the previous day in the Music Department, he indeed drew Chapter Nine of Cloud Gate.

After playing for two days in a row, he knew this chapter by heart and passed smoothly without any surprises.

Of the nearly hundred chapters in "Six Musics", if he hadn't known in advance the topic he would draw and prepared accordingly, passing would have been impossible.

Zhou Yu was filled with hope.

Horse Riding was his trump card; if performed well, he could possibly become the top scholar in Horse Riding.

His skills in Shooting were not weak either; although he had no hope of becoming the top scholar, he was still in the first tier.

Recalling, he had answered all of Law correctly, made only one mistake in Mathematics, and nearly perfect in Ritual Department; even if he didn't claim the top spot in Horse Riding, it seemed he still had a chance to make the list...

After the selection of the Music Department, the Examination Hall was left with over nine hundred candidates, divided into ten groups.

Each group had one hundred candidates; those who were taking the Horse Riding test had to wait at the back while others were examined.

After finishing his own exam, Zhou Yu got down from the carriage, feeling somewhat despondent.

The chief examiner for this Horse Riding test was his father, who served as Minister of Transportation.

Unlike other candidates, after his examination, he could immediately find out his results.

His Horse Riding had only achieved an A+.

While in Horse Riding an A+ was already a very high score and reflected his normal performance level, unfortunately, a dark-skinned fellow before him had also achieved A+.

With the same score, but in the final "Chasing Left," the latter's arrow flew closer to the bullseye than his.

Thus, this placed him above Zhou Yu in the rankings.

That arrow, striking the heart of the target, also shattered Zhou Yu's dream of becoming the Horse Riding top scholar.

Aside from feeling somewhat dispirited, he was very grateful to Li Nuo.

He had always remembered Brother Li's words of caution.

Thankfully, he had devoted that time to intensely practicing Horse Riding; otherwise, he might only have received an A in Horse Riding.

At that moment, Zhou Yu suddenly heard cries of surprise not far from a road nearby.

He looked over.

Something seemed to have happened there…